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Writer's Captors Imply al Qaeda Link
Monday, February 25, 2002
By Steven Gutkin
Associated Press Writer

Saeed also told investigators that his group wanted to teach the United States a lesson and Pearl's murder was just a first step, intelligence officials said.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- AP
The hunt for the killers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is targeting three Arab nationals -- an indication, investigators say, that the perpetrators may be linked to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network.

Authorities offered little information Sunday about the Arabs' identities or what role they may have played. But their alleged involvement -- combined with investigators' revelation that a key suspect now in custody said he met personally with bin Laden in Afghanistan -- suggested an Al Qaeda link.

Police believe a dozen or more people were involved in Pearl's abduction and murder, and that most of them have spent time in Afghanistan as supporters of that country's ousted Taliban regime.

Their links to Al Qaeda -- the group believed responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States -- are being studied, investigators said.

Four key suspects were already in police custody when U.S. and Pakistani authorities revealed the contents of a videotape Friday that showed images of the 38-year-old journalist getting his throat slit.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British-born Islamic militant who police believe masterminded Pearl's abduction, has been in police custody since early February.
(More: The Sun News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

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